Letter to U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley Regarding Her Efforts to Defend the Jewish People and State

May 7, 2018

In a letter to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt expressed appreciation for Haley's stalwart efforts the past two months to ensure that the Jewish people and the Jewish state are treated fairly at the United Nations Security Council.

May 7, 2018

The Honorable Nikki Haley
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
799 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017

Dear Ambassador Haley:

I am writing to express the Anti-Defamation League’s heartfelt thanks for your stalwart efforts the past two months ensure that the Jewish people and the Jewish state are treated fairly at the United Nations Security Council.

I wish to thank you most recently for drafting and introducing a U.N. Security Council statement Friday that condemned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s unconscionable anti-Semitic hate speech in front of the Palestinian National Council. While his apology Friday morning was insufficient - for example, it failed to retract his claim that the Jewish people brought the Holocaust on themselves through usury - your actions clearly put him on notice that such incitement against Jews will not be tolerated by the United States. As your draft statement reportedly stated, such anti-Semitism makes Middle East peace harder to achieve and “has historically contributed to threats to international peace and security, mass atrocities, and widespread violations of human rights.”

I also wish to thank you for you steadfast rejection of one-sided statements which place the onus for tensions at the Gaza border on Israel. ADL laments the loss of Palestinian life from these confrontations, but Hamas bears clear responsibility for these deaths by inciting civilians to breach a boundary that is essential to the security of Israeli communities.

As this situation develops, I am thankful for the principled position of the United States affirming Israel’s right to self-defense and calling out Hamas violence and incitement.

I also note with appreciation your Security Council address on April 26th condemning the illegal and inhumane exploitation of civilians as human shields by terrorist groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Islamic State. I stand ready to publicly support you should you seek to pursue a judicious U.N. Security Council Resolution that elaborates the obligations of U.N. member states to combat this insidious practice.

From the beginning of your tenure as Ambassador, you have been a firm and fair defender of Israel against biased resolutions and unfair assaults from other member states. I am deeply appreciative of all your efforts to confront incitement against the Jewish people and to help ensure Israel is treated fairly and equally at the United Nations.

Sincerely,

Jonathan A. Greenblatt
CEO and National Director
Anti-Defamation League